China to launch its first lunar orbiter late 2007

eThe planned lunar orbiter launch by China later this year (see article) leaves me with mixed emotions. While I do see the obvious reasons of the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) for doing so, scientifically, this is nothing more than a repeated 'proof-of-concept' exercise, which for the cost, probably won't produce a whole lot of new science. Why not take the learnings from space agencies who have successfully been through the lunar orbiter process, and then apply to a new geography in space (there's plenty to choose from)?